Russia’s Duma speaker stands for ‘equitable dialogue’ with Europe

Naryshkin is confident that self-isolation in response to Western sanctions is absolutely out of question to Russia

Share

1 pages in this article

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Russia should continue ‘an equitable dialogue’ with Europe, Sergey Naryshkin, the speaker of State Duma, lower house of Russia’s parliament, said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily that is published on Friday.

Naryshkin is confident that self-isolation in response to Western sanctions is absolutely out of question to Russia.

“Maybe, sometimes it is a correct and reasonable option to strike an attitude /of offended dignity/ but not in this case,” Naryshkin said.

The speaker says that a dialogue with European counterparts “should be held like with opponents rather than just with friends and partners.”

“It should be done this way since our critics, primarily from the United States, would like to deprive us and themselves and Europe of an equitable dialogue on key pressing issues,” he said. “Let’s not play by their rules and do exactly what they are striving for. If we help them by doing so, we will please the ‘hawks’ greatly.”

On the contrary, Russia will seek any opportunity for a dialogue “so that our position and our truth will be heard,” he said.

Naryshkin who was blacklisted by the European Union and the United States over Ukraine’s crisis said that he was not going to beef up his security or to give somewhat of special instructions to his guards.

“We are not talking about threatening to cause physical harm to those on the so-called sanction lists,” Naryshkin said in the interview.